It started with a board devoted to central New Jersey, and the Jersey Shore where everyone who lived there started reminiscing about the places that were no longer around, and the memories associated with them, while reuniting with some people from their own area. Last Thursday, my hometown of Roselle Park, a small but memorable borough in eastern Union County of New Jersey, got into the act. And all I can say is that the party has not yet stopped. As of this writing, we are approaching 600 people, from graduating classes from the 1960's to the 80's (and I wouldn't be surprised if there were some nineties people thrown in for good measure). I myself graduated in 1974, so I could relate to a lot of the goings on in town, from a "much simpler time", as they say.
Topics ranged from Larry's Sub Shop (I'll take a #6, please!), to school teachers, hot dog joints and even the first place in town you made out in! Music, as always, was a part of it, a soundtrack to those younger and (mostly) innocent times. Many posts involved "teen club", "block party dances" and other functions where a DJ, or more importantly a live band played the music of the day.
I confess, Roselle Park will never be a Seattle, Detroit, or Athens, GA, but we had our share of aspiring musicians paying their dues. While none of them hit the Billboard charts, they may as well be The Beatles or Stones in this town. And although I was pretty much a stay-at-long shy wallflower during those years and had to rely on others to name the bands that played at the school dances, I do know that, as a member of the school's band (trumpet player), many of my collegues made the most of their schooling and ventured into music, if not a full time career, then a significant devotion to same. I'd like to share the story of a few of them here.
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English Creek Road/Wheatstone Bridge playing at Frenchy's in October 2010 |
Probably the most recognizable band that I remembered was English Creek Road, which took their name from a Garden State Parkway overpass in South Jersey. It later morphed into Wheatstone Bridge, and probably were the best band around. After being dormant for 40 years, they reformed last year and I got to see them play at Frenchy's Bar in town at a "reunion event". The band included, among others, Mike Adams, Joe Serratelli, Rocky Russomano, and Joe Tortorello, and the stuff they played--classic rock, "Vehicle" by the Ides of March comes to mind--felt like time had stood still for all those years. A little rusty, perhaps...four decades is a long time, but it just goes to show that memories cannot be squashed!
Some of my classmates had moved on and found their own bands. I remember Ron Pietranowicz from fourth grade playing the piano at a school assembly. Of course, he was in the school's band as well. He was the first classmate to find me on Facebook three years ago, and I discovered he was playing keyboards for a jam band based in Milford, PA called The Moving Company. I caught Ron and his bandmates playing at a bar in Andover last summer; they have been playing mostly in Sussex County and the Milford PA area. They most recently performed at the Jamaroo Festival in Layton, NJ, and this week (Wednesday, August 10) are at the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show. You can check them out at:
The next two artists that hailed from my town I have not yet seen perform yet, but, looking at their profiles, seem to have been doing well for themselves. Tom Corea, a drummer in our band, as been involved with several projects during his musical career. In addition, he owns his own studio and currently lives in East Hanover. His primary band, Bad Attitude, has been together since the mid 1980's, and he is the band's drummer. Also a jam band, they have performed with many "name" acts, including The Smithereens, Molly Hatchet and Nils Lofgren, just to name a few. Primarily a cover band, they have produced two albums of their own material as well. According to their website http://www.myspace.com/badattitudenj , they'll be playing down in Parlin, in Central Jersey, on August 27.
Last, and certainly not least, is Trish Szymanski, another from my band days and a close friend whom I've had the great pleasure to reconnect with a couple years ago (not to mention one of my few 'followers' of my blog). Even though I had fallen out of touch with her shortly after high school, I had some kind of inkling that she would do very well for herself artistically. What I was unaware of was that she not only sang several styles of music, but would have a big hand in preserving the arts in Jersey City, her current home. And just recently, she has: performed in a series of plays, most notably in Galileo The Musical, back in June, at the Robert Moss Theater in New York City. She also worked with Art House Productions, a hotbed for all different types of performing arts. Most recently, she hosts Open Mic nights at Bill & Ruth's Lounge in Jersey City.
Her newest accomplishment, however, is as the new lead singer of the band Sea of Otters, which had originally toured the Jersey Shore circuit in the late 80's and early 90's. Band frontman Nick Ciavatta has reformed the band with Trish singing lead, and they will be performing on August 17 at the Groove on Grove, an outdoor venue at the PATH station on Grove Street in Jersey City. Hopefully I will be able to catch this performance. I'm not able to find a website of theirs, but did track down this video shot when they performed at the South Street Seaport's Algonquin Theater a month or so ago.
I know there are other friends and classmates from Roselle Park that are musicians as well. Hopefully I can locate them and include them in a future blog.
SOUND-RAVES 100: There are some changes on my chart ranking this week, as Plan B finally ends Rachel Allyn's four-week reign at the top. Katy Perry sneaks back in at #2. Nationally, she is on the verge of becoming the second artist of all time to pull five Billboard Hot 100 #1's, but has been held back by LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem". Rachel's "Say Hello to Goodbye" drops to #3, but the Ogdensburg native, like Moving Company (see above), played the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show this week.
Elsewhere, Wilco takes another big leap to #6 as it was Brian Sniatkowski's Song of the Week, but the biggest jump is the title track from Fitz & the Tantrums' "Pickin' Up the Pieces", moving from #47 to #13. FATT will be in Vermont for Grace Potter's Grand Point North festival in Burlington this weekend, playing just before the headliners. Other entries in the Top 20 include Los Lonely Boys change-of-pace song "16 Monkeys", and Maroon 5, which finally cracks the upper part of the rankings with "Moves Like Jagger". Finally, Foster the People's new single "Helena Beat" jumps to #16, becoming the band's third top 20 hit. But the big news here is that "Pumped Up Kicks", which was my #1 last winter and Brian's Song of the Week almost a year ago, finally cracks the Hot 100 top 20, and is just descending from the top spot on the Alternative chart.
And speaking of a long time coming, you have to go back to December to find the last time Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" wasn't in the Top 20. It entered my chart on December 6 at #33, jumped to #9 the next week, and stayed in the upper regions, including a week at #1, for 33 weeks. This week it finally drops down to #26, but does break a longevity record in its 35th week. No doubt it will hang in there to reach the 40-week mark.
Several acts who hit my top 10 with their previous releases enter my Sound-Raves chart this week. It is headed by Bush, the Gavin Rossdale-lead Brit post grunge outfit, which the lead track "The Sound of Winter" from their new album The Sea of Memories that will drop on September 13. The song enters at #71. The band broke up in 2002, but reformed last year with Rossdale, drummer Robin Goodridge and two new members. They released a single "Afterlife" (which hit my #2 position last year) from what was supposed to be a late 2010 release, but was pushed back several times. The single is a return to the style the band was known for in the 90's (the song evokes "Come Down", one of their earlier hits, for example; those who felt uncomfortable with the direction of "Afterlife" would like this one. Unfortunately, the band had already toured this area; they move out west in the next few month before going back to Europe.
Death Cab For Cutie's "Stay Young Go Dancing", at #83, the follow-up to the #6 "You Are a Tourist" is, despite the title, a chugging, if a bit somber and heartfelt peace of soft rock, complete with strings. Like the above, a few listens will get you on track. Finally MUTEMATH's "Blood Pressure" enters at #86, the followup to the #4 "Electrify". The new song is the first from the New Orleans band's album Odd Soul, set for October 4.
Next, at #80 is The Airborne Toxic Event's follow-up to the #6 "Changing", "All I Ever Wanted", also from their All at Once set. Not as immediately apparent as the previous entry, the song begins to haunt you with repeated listens and will catch on. Should be another winner for the LA indie-rock outfit. Like Bush, they just played this area (Philly) and now are moving west.
FINAL NOTES: My wife and I spent much of this past Sunday watching movies. Two of them featured bands that are or were on my SoundRaves chart. Going the Distance, starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore features The Boxer Relbellon, most recently on my list with "The Runner" (which almost re-enters this week); Elizabethdown, with Orlando Bloom and New Jersey's own Kirsten Dunst, from 2005, featured My Morning Jacket (down to #20 this week with "Holdin' On to Black Metal").
The SoundRaves 100 for the Week of August 8, 2011:
This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
1 | 2 |  PLAN B "Love Goes Down" Album: The Defamation of Strickland Banks | 7 |
2 | 3 | Katy Perry - Last Friday Night | 9 |
3 | 1 | Rachel Allyn - Say Hello To Goodbye | 11 |
4 | 5 | Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean | 13 |
5 | 6 | Avi Buffalo - How Come | 7 |
6 | 11 | MOVER OF THE WEEK:  WILCO "I Might" Album: The Whole Love | 3 |
7 | 8 | Best Coast - Something In The Way | 8 |
8 | 4 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Dear Mr. President | 9 |
9 | 10 | Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie | 4 |
10 | 7 | Florence + the Machine - You Got the Love | 13 |
11 | 17 | Brilliant Colors - How Much Younger | 5 |
12 | 9 | Adele - Set Fire To the Rain | 6 |
13 | 47 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS "Picking Up the Pieces of Love" Album: Picking Up the Pieces | 2 |
14 | 26 | Los Lonely Boys - 16 Monkeys | 4 |
15 | 13 | Portugal the Man - Got It All | 9 |
16 | 23 | Foster the People - Helena Beat | 5 |
17 | 15 | The Black Keys - Everlasting Light | 9 |
18 | 25 | Maroon 5 f. Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger | 4 |
19 | 12 | Train - Save Me San Francisco | 14 |
20 | 14 | My Morning Jacket - Holdin' On to Black Metal | 12 |
21 | 33 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Don't Gotta Work It Out | 3 |
22 | 35 | Lykke Li - Rich Kids Blues | 3 |
23 | 16 | Foo Fighters - Walk | 9 |
24 | 34 | The Kooks - Junk of the Heart | 5 |
25 | 22 | Neon Trees - Your Surrender | 16 |
26 | 18 | Adele - Rolling In the Deep | 35 |
27 | 28 | We Are Augustines - Chapel Song | 8 |
28 | 24 | Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall | 10 |
29 | 29 | Wild Flag - Romance | 7 |
30 | 21 | Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory | 9 |
31 | 19 | The Strokes - Taken For A Fool | 13 |
32 | 31 | Cee Lo Green - Bright Lights, Bigger City | 6 |
33 | 20 | Adele - Rumour Has It | 16 |
34 | 27 | Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi-Two Against One | 18 |
35 | 37 | Generationals - Ten Twenty Ten | 6 |
36 | 40 | Zac Brown Band f Jimmy Buffet - Knee Deep | 14 |
37 | 39 | Arcade Fire - Month of May | 13 |
38 | 38 | Gomez - Options | 11 |
39 | 48 | Sleeper Agent - Get It Daddy | 7 |
40 | 44 | Beastie Boys - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win | 5 |
41 | 46 | KT Tunstall - Glamour Puss | 7 |
42 | 62 | SuperHeavy - Miracle Worker | 3 |
43 | 43 | The Lonely Forest - We Sing In Time | 8 |
44 | 36 | Kate Voegele - Heart In Chains | 13 |
45 | 30 | The Raveonettes - Apparitions | 11 |
46 | 50 | Kenny Chesney f. Grace Potter - You & Tequila | 10 |
47 | 53 | Yacht - Dystopia | 7 |
48 | 45 | Adele - Someone Like You | 16 |
49 | 32 | Lykke Li - Get Some | 13 |
50 | 60 | PJ Harvey - Let England Shake | 4 |
51 | 41 | Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs - Repo Man | 12 |
52 | 52 | Scotty McCreery - I Love You This Big | 11 |
53 | 58 | Lenny Kravitz - Stand | 5 |
54 | 54 | Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down 'Cause I Moved Your Chair | 11 |
55 | 80 | The Antlers - Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out | 2 |
56 | 57 | Young the Giant - Cough Syrup | 6 |
57 | 85 | The Jayhawks - She Walks In So Many Ways | 2 |
58 | 65 | Michelle Branch - Loud Music | 5 |
59 | 55 | Brett Dennon - Comeback Kid | 9 |
60 | 59 | Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks | 29 |
61 | 42 | Paramore - Monster | 10 |
62 | 72 | Trevor Hall - Brand New Day | 3 |
63 | 49 | Fleet Foxes - Battery Kinzie | 13 |
64 | 84 | Jason Aldean - Dirt Road Anthem | 2 |
65 | 51 | Shontelle - Say Hello to Goodbye | 11 |
66 | 63 | Rachel Allyn - Gettin' By | 30 |
67 | 64 | Linkin Park - Iridescent | 8 |
68 | 74 | Goo Goo Dolls - All That You Are | 5 |
69 | 89 | Holy Ghost! - Do It Again | 2 |
70 | 75 | Colbie Calliat - Brighter Than the Sun | 5 |
71 | ---- | TOP DEBUT:  BUSH "The Sound of Winter" Album: The Sea of Memories | 1 |
72 | 56 | Drive-By Truckers - Everybody Needs Love | 15 |
73 | 68 | Kings of Leon - Back Down South | 9 |
74 | 69 | The Head and the Heart - Lost In My Mind | 7 |
75 | 79 | The Decemberists - Calamity Song | 3 |
76 | 92 | Incubus - Promises, Promises | 4 |
77 | 61 | The Wombats - Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) | 17 |
78 | 81 | The Band Perry - If I Die Young | 6 |
79 | 70 | Cold War Kids - Skip the Charades | 13 |
80 | ---- | The Airborne Toxic Event - All I Ever Wanted | 1 |
81 | 83 | Grouplove - Colours | 3 |
82 | 66 | Cage the Elephant - Around My Head | 15 |
83 | ---- | Death Cab For Cutie - Stay Young Go Dancing | 1 |
84 | 67 | Christina Perri - Arms | 12 |
85 | 77 | The Naked and Famous - Punching In A Dream | 8 |
86 | ---- | Mutemath - Blood Pressure | 1 |
87 | 71 | Death Cab for Cutie - You are A Tourist | 18 |
88 | 73 | Lady Gaga - Judas | 14 |
89 | 98 | O.A.R.- Heaven | 2 |
90 | 76 | Dom - Living In America | 18 |
91 | 82 | Florence + the Machine - Dog Days are Over | 23 |
92 | 78 | Peter Bjorn & John - Dig A Little Deeper | 13 |
93 | 86 | Sam Roberts Band - The Last Crusade | 12 |
94 | ---- | Gym Class Heroes f. Adam Levine - Stereo Hearts | 1 |
95 | ---- | The Rosebuds - Second Bird of Paradise | 1 |
96 | ---- | Kopecky Family Band - Howlin' At the Moon | 1 |
97 | ---- | The Mountain Goats - Estate Sale Sign | 1 |
98 | ---- | Surfer Blood- Swim | 1 |
99 | ---- | Alter Bridge - Ghost of Days Gone By | 1 |
100 | RE-ENTRY | Taylor Swift - The Story of Us | 6 |
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